On 19 August 2024, resolution 129/2024 (the “Resolution 129/2024”) of the Financial Information Unit (“FIU”) was issued, where a change in the regulations governing the summary proceedings to impose sanctions related to the prevention of Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter IV of Law 25246, as amended, was approved.
Through Resolution 90/2024 (the “Resolution 90/2024”), the FIU had implemented a new regulation for these procedures, highlighting as a novelty the inclusion of the abbreviated procedure.
This abbreviated procedure offers obliged entities the possibility to acknowledge their non-compliance, receive a reduced sanction and correct the deficiencies in an expeditious manner and close to the moment when the infringement was detected during the supervision.
With this amendment, the UIF seeks to raise the level of compliance with Recommendation 35 of the Financial Action Task Force (“GAFI”), which requires member countries, such as Argentina, to have effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions for non-compliance by regulated entities, their directors and senior executives in relation to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing regulations.
Among the main changes in the abbreviated procedure, the following stand out:
- The assumptions for its application are broadened: it will now also apply to breaches related to the obligation to report suspicious transactions, not only to formal offenses.
- New rules for settlement are introduced: in cases of infringements related to the failure to report suspicious transactions or their submission outside the established deadlines and forms, the total value of the goods or transactions will be taken into account. Payment may be made in two consecutive monthly installments, with payment of the first installment upon acceptance of the abbreviated procedure being sufficient, together with a commitment to remedy the deficiencies within three months.
- The conditions for counting against the record are reduced: the final resolution of these procedures will not generate a record and will not be counted for recidivism, as long as no other infringement is committed within three years (previously the period was five years).
- Possibility to apply to ongoing proceedings: for proceedings pending until 19 August 2024, those involved will have 90 days from the publication of the Resolution to request the corresponding settlement.
The Resolution is effective as of 19 August 2024.
